Death in Habbaniyah and 2016 Politics

In those days, it seemed like everyday someone was killed. On the days that someone was not killed then the bill was paid in full in the succeeding days. So it was nothing extraordinary when the command unit was hit, and he was killed. What seemed extraordinary was that it was a mortar. The Iraqis when they fired mortars or any indirect fire weapon were extremely inaccurate. The art and science of gunnery never seemed to be a part, or a practice of their military. The second extraordinary thing was that the ordinance did not misfire or partially explode. There are many alive and well today due to the poor condition of their ammunition. This was due to a complete lack of care of their ammunition and weapons that often resulted in their fuses to malfunction, their propellant to fail, their charges to not burn, and that was a good thing.

They were in Habbaniyah along the Euphrates river. It was once a British Royal Air Force base, a way station for flights on to India, and across what was then the British Empire. At one time it was called little London, with huge Eucalyptus trees, grass lawns, and gardens, all from the generous flow of the Euphrates. Then the Iraqi Army took it over, then the wars, and now it is slowly rotting away.

He was the only one hit, a piece of shrapnel to the throat, cutting the carotid artery. He bleed out chocking to death as his blood filled his lungs, his best friend held him in his arms as he died. The others screaming for the Corpsman, calling for a helicopter medivac. None of it helped. I remember him, and the others they were like brothers constantly teasing one another, harassment was continuous in the light hearted manner of boys and young men. His death hit the unit hard, maybe it was singularity of his death that seemed to concentrate their feelings, perhaps out of proportion, for if there had been more killed the grief would have been spread around. There was nothing Hollywood or heroic about this, they were setting up a comm relay. But on that day, and at that time he was the only one, and he seemed to be the best of them. As my friend said, holding back tears, he was one of the good ones, he was just a good kid. Like many, this was his second combat tour to Iraq. He had just gotten married before the deployment; he had his life in front of him, he was a good Marine, and an NCO who happened to be a Muslim.

The story does not end when the helicopter takes the bodies away. They go on, they are cleaned up and they are processed, most are dressed in the best uniforms; they are interred with ceremony and dignity. But the story continues long after everyone has walked away from the grave. The story continues with the families that are left alone to grieve, it continues with the mothers and fathers that live to keep the story of their children alive. Life goes on and they return to work, to their lives of paying bills, getting the car fixed, and taking care of their families. Even after ten years I am sure his wife, his mother and father, still try to cover the hole in their hearts.

There is something remarkably pathetic about Donald Trump’s criticism of Capt. Khan’s mother and his outrage at his father for his criticism. But he was the overwhelming choice of the Republican Party base, arguably his greatest advantage in this election is the general distaste for the Democratic presidential nominee. But through his nonstop foolishness he seems to be striving to guarantee her victory.

The real question is what has happened to the party of Eisenhower and Reagan? How did the party of Reagan’s big tent philosophy become a party of no compromise, a party of intolerance, and blind adherence to doctrine and loyalty. It is now a party that scoffs at science, it looks backward, there is a pandering to a shrinking pool of supporters. As a former member of the GOP, now from the outside it is as if the party is in a death spiral, with each downward revolution, it jettisons of those that believe in alternative points of view, that believe in compromise for the greater good, instead it focuses on a narrower and narrower base.

The direction that the GOP plots for itself after their 2016 election debacle will determine if ends up in the ash bin of history. Or somehow find itself as an inclusive party, a party of compromise, a party that is open to alternative thought. A party that can nominate someone other than a demigod, one that can respect the grief of mothers and fathers, and the ultimate sacrifice of so many that would disagree with him.